Rishi Amatya is the author of the recently published graphic novel, Lumanka Ti, which retells the events and mythologies surrounding the great earthquake of 1254 AD. Recently, he also worked with the Patan Museum to create an interactive map for children to use while visiting Patan Durbar Square. In this conversation with the Post’s Samikshya Bhattarai, Amatya talks about the importance and scope of graphic novels in Nepal and its trajectory. Excerpts:

Your graphic novel Lumanka Ti was published recently. Tell us about how the idea to write the book came about?

The idea of Lumanka Ti first came to me after the earthquake in 2015, which damaged many of our heritages and took so many lives. Academically, I studied heritage interpretation and had been writing columns about heritage for quite some time, so this destruction had a personal as well as professional effect on me. After the earthquake, I decided to deepen my research on heritage and found some interesting records—like how most ancient records existed only because kings or noblemen died in the calamity and that people assumed god’s wrath to be the cause of earthquakes. Following that research, I decided to write Lumanka Ti. These stories are barely known and as a comic lover myself, I thought a graphic novel would be a good medium to tell these stories.

The graphic novel isn’t a very popular genre for storytelling yet. Can you tell us why this medium can be important for the Nepali publishing industry?

The idea of graphic novel is very new here in terms of writing and publishing as there are only few people who work in this genre. However, when it comes to reading graphic novels, there is a huge fan following of manga and anime, as well as western comic books. This interest in graphic novel shows that Nepal has a huge potential in this genre. Telling stories through graphics is very important for the Nepali publishing industry, as graphic novels are an accessible form of literature. So often, people who are not even interested in reading love graphic novels.

In Lumanka Ti, you have taken a host of mythologies and have retold them for the modern

audience. Why is it important that these myths and legends are recast for them to remain relevant?

If we look at most of the stories in western graphic novels, they are usually old mythologies retold for the modern audience. Almost all the superhero movies also have this beautiful fusion of modern storytelling and mythology. I tried to do something similar with Lumanka Ti, as telling old stories to the new generation is very important. And, if we want to tell these stories, it is necessary that we make it easy to relate to. Also in Nepal’s case and particularly in Kathmandu, a lot of us grew up reading western comics and watching English movies, so we rarely know about our own mythology and have no emotional connection with them. So it is more important now to retell these stories through modern storytelling. I have tried to do so through Lumanka Ti.

 What are some books you would recommend for readers who are interested in history, mythology and graphic novels?

There are many books that have inspired me over the years and were very good reads. So to name a few would be hard but the books like The Brick and The Bull and Temples of Nepal Valley by Sudarshan Raj Tiwari and Ancient Nepal by DR Regmi are good reads for people interested in knowing the history of Nepal. Also for graphic novel lovers, I would recommend Cairo by Chris Womersley, Boxers and Saints by Gene Luen Yang and Fables.

How has Lumanka Ti been received in the market? Any new books or projects in the pipeline?

Thankfully, Lumanka Ti was well-received by the audience even though the concept of graphic novel is very new here. I was quite nervous as it is my first book but people have given good reviews so far. Some of my seniors too loved the book and have given me positive feedback. I am quite happy with the reaction.

I am currently working on my other book which will be a story of Kathmandu Valley. Kathmandu is so rich in history, culture and stories, I plan on writing about it and this book too will be a graphic novel.